tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62304304040637130822014-10-06T21:39:16.743-04:00Saving Veronicaa debt blogveronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09805747891631221848noreply@blogger.comBlogger219125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6230430404063713082.post-22160919172021743432012-05-19T01:17:00.002-04:002012-05-19T01:17:32.992-04:00The CloserFor the second time in less than two years, I've closed on my property. That's right: I finalized my refinance today. Woohoo!
I have to say that as with my original purchase, things for the refinance aligned as though it was all meant to be. My timing couldn't have been better -- right after I decided to refinance and completed my new loan application, which locked in my rate, the rates started veronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09805747891631221848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6230430404063713082.post-12660120019855400432012-04-24T23:26:00.000-04:002012-04-24T23:44:37.126-04:00(Re)FinedSomehow it seems longer since I've written. I don't know why.
Life is fine. Actually, life is pretty good. I can finally report on something I put into the works last month: I'm refinancing the condo. I started investigating it last month on a whim. OK, so it wasn't quite a whim -- I kept getting little messages here and there, including some "junk" mail. I didn't think it would be for me, veronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09805747891631221848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6230430404063713082.post-7818689469918088092012-04-01T18:49:00.002-04:002012-04-01T18:49:29.654-04:00April Fool's Day?Holy crap, it's already April! Where did the time go?
I've made my travel arrangements for Paris to the tune of $2,000. I'd originally hoped to stay between $1,500 and $1,800, but when I started pricing the trip and deciding where I wanted to stay, I figured it was worth the extra money to be where I wanted to be. I wanted to be in St. Germain, and as luck would have it, I found a charming hotelveronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09805747891631221848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6230430404063713082.post-62817969097608936942012-02-15T23:05:00.001-05:002012-02-15T23:05:12.997-05:00TwitchyI was in a fender bender this past weekend. It sucks, but there you have it. No one was hurt, but I have expenses now that I hadn't planned on. Rental car ... deductible ... mental and emotional health (believe me, those last two items are big expenses).
The good thing is that at least I have the money to cover the financial part of it. Four or five years ago it would've really hurt.
Also veronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09805747891631221848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6230430404063713082.post-177439919725618682012-02-07T23:13:00.002-05:002012-02-07T23:13:38.646-05:00Monthly Update: February 2012I can't remember the last time I did a monthly update, and to tell you the truth, I don't feel like looking it up. (I know, I know. I'm lazy.) And this isn't going to be a huge post. But I did realize I hadn't checked in in a while and thought enough had happened that warranted an update.
First, I finally bought a new laptop. I'm typing on The Precious now, actually. I decided on another Mac, veronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09805747891631221848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6230430404063713082.post-74639255253980195672012-01-11T22:16:00.002-05:002012-01-11T22:16:20.161-05:00And Then There Were 2When I first started this debt blog, I had eight accounts spread among six financial institutions. And then I added a small local bank to the mix. As of today, I'm down to two banks.
I started consolidating a while ago, first cutting one of the two credit unions, and later cutting SunTrust when they decided to charge a monthly fee for using debit cards. (While they gave in to customer pressure veronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09805747891631221848noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6230430404063713082.post-75954458953478271842012-01-01T20:59:00.004-05:002012-01-02T10:13:07.184-05:00Happy 2012!I know, I know. It's been a while. My apologies. I've been fairly busy, and to be honest, there hasn't been that much to report. But there are two noteworthy things:
First, I entered 2012 free of credit card debt. This is my second year in a row of being able to say that, and you know what? It feels as good as it did last year.
Second, I still have savings. Mind you, I don't have as much as I veronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09805747891631221848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6230430404063713082.post-51351465264726133732011-10-21T21:29:00.000-04:002011-10-21T21:30:04.725-04:00A Word About the Financial Planner DudeI know I've mentioned him here before and how I've known him for a long time though I only recently started using him professionally. You might be asking, "What are you doing spending what little money you have on this dude?" Well, I questioned that myself a time or two. That is, until I actually started meeting with him.
It goes beyond him giving me such "advice" as "Don't spend. Save." Sure, veronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09805747891631221848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6230430404063713082.post-26381836460798728612011-10-21T09:43:00.001-04:002011-10-21T09:43:37.721-04:00Be the TurtleI met with my financial adviser yesterday. I hadn't talked to him since summer, before I received my home buyer credit. Back then I had this notion that by October, I'd have a good $10,000 in the bank -- after buying my couch. So it was humbling when I went in yesterday with my paltry $5,500.
I'm still not sure what happened. Sure, there was the couch. And I paid off the mattresses. There were veronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09805747891631221848noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6230430404063713082.post-71673919479062271262011-09-08T23:15:00.000-04:002011-09-08T23:15:29.140-04:00Funk.This is me attempting to pound out an update through my funk. Let's get through this, shall we?
Last week sucked. There's really no other way to say it. It started last Monday when my car was slow to start. It finally cooperated and I made it to my chiropractor. And then it started fine after my appointment. I stopped home before heading to work and when I got back in the car, I got that dreadedveronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09805747891631221848noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6230430404063713082.post-57096818879378018552011-07-29T22:19:00.003-04:002011-07-29T22:56:45.099-04:00Back to Square OneGuess who finally received her home buyer credit? Yep, this lady right here! I checked my bank balance this morning and there it was in my account. With interest. I literally jumped for joy.The buzz didn't last long, however. Before I did anything else, I paid off what was due on my mattresses. And then I paid off my AmEx, which was creeping up, thanks to the fine offerings by G*lt Group. And I veronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09805747891631221848noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6230430404063713082.post-3378178089236070392011-07-01T19:49:00.004-04:002011-07-01T23:21:11.689-04:00July 2011 UpdateHello there!I just realized that I hadn't written since May. Whoa -- sorry about that. June was a pretty busy month. I'll try to get back on schedule here.So ... the update. I've been kind of "spendy" lately, but I think I'm finally finding some kind of balance. I recently went over the numbers in preparation for a meeting with the financial planner. After adding things up, I realized things are veronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09805747891631221848noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6230430404063713082.post-38299808338091009382011-05-23T21:10:00.007-04:002011-05-24T07:06:52.915-04:00DirtyWow. It's been a while, hasn't it?Before I get caught up, though, I want to thank Monia at Losing It All for her sweet e-mail asking if I was OK. That gesture meant a lot.So, where was I? Right ... catching up on what I've been doing the last month and a half. The short answer is that I haven't been writing, not the blogs and not even my journal. I'm not sure why. Sometimes, I guess, I just can'tveronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09805747891631221848noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6230430404063713082.post-29912095329243338232011-04-01T22:05:00.002-04:002011-04-02T00:02:26.827-04:00April 2011 UpdateHas it been a month already?I don't have much to report, but I'll give it a go just the same. I had the timing belt replaced on my car finally. It had been plaguing me, so I'm relieved to have had it done.I'm still debt free. Mostly. No, no, it's not like that. I'm not back-sliding, as they say. I've been very careful about paying off any debt every month. The savings picture is OK. Not great, veronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09805747891631221848noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6230430404063713082.post-60092548342094506122011-03-11T23:37:00.002-05:002011-03-12T00:30:25.148-05:00March 2011 UpdateThings are going pretty well. I believe when I left off I'd just splurged on a VitaMix blender. One would think there would be some buyer's remorse, but nope. I love it! I've used it practically every day.In other financial news, I filed my tax return. I've received the regular portion of my refund, but not the home buyer credit, which apparently takes longer to process. Granted, I'm glad to haveveronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09805747891631221848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6230430404063713082.post-59356642482359231102011-02-05T17:44:00.003-05:002011-02-05T18:53:37.886-05:00Bring on the Greens!I had to go to Costco today to get a new membership card. It's a bit of a pain to find parking at the shopping center where my Costco is located, so I figured I'd browse for a bit before heading out. And I'm glad I did. There was a deal on VitaMix blenders this weekend. I've wanted one for a long, long time. I've stalked them online for years. A year ago, I would've been forced to forgo the veronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09805747891631221848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6230430404063713082.post-73046547324558322712011-02-04T23:04:00.002-05:002011-02-05T00:38:40.027-05:00February 2011 UpdateHappy February! I hope everyone is having a wonderful 2011 so far and making progress on paying off debt. And if not? Well ... there's always tomorrow to get back on track.Things with me are going fairly well. I met with my financial planner a few weeks ago and opened a Roth IRA to supplement my 401(k). I had to make a deposit to open the account (of course), and will start the monthly veronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09805747891631221848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6230430404063713082.post-20933648180376199892011-01-01T18:38:00.003-05:002011-01-01T20:25:47.128-05:00What a Difference a Year MakesLast year this time I still owed almost $6,000 on my credit cards. This year? Zip. Zilch. Zero. Happy New Year!I don't want to sound like I'm gloating, and I hope it doesn't come across that way. But it is a great feeling and a great way to start off a new year. If you're still struggling with your debt, please, by all means, keep at it. The sacrifices are so worth it.The other great thing about veronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09805747891631221848noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6230430404063713082.post-65113527108877350372010-12-06T21:54:00.004-05:002010-12-31T00:52:35.146-05:00The Fives Have ItSeveral years ago, a coworker/friend who sat beside me got excited when someone who owed him for lunch got a $5 bill. "This'll go in the money drawer!" he exclaimed. "What are you talking about?" I asked. And then he explained: Every year he picks a denomination to save and every time he gets that bill, it goes in the drawer. Some years it was all ones. Sometimes fives. But whatever he chose, he veronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09805747891631221848noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6230430404063713082.post-20676649405740349002010-12-01T20:56:00.002-05:002010-12-01T22:48:41.472-05:00December 2010 Progress ReportI seem to have picked up one or two new followers. Hello! And thanks for following my humble blog.On to the progress report: All is well, I'm happy to say. I had allowed a small balance to carry over to December -- just to have a little activity on the card -- but I paid that off today.2011 will be the first year in 20 years (or more) that I've started the year off without credit card debt. Allowveronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09805747891631221848noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6230430404063713082.post-62428286246418389022010-11-13T11:08:00.002-05:002010-11-13T12:24:58.532-05:00November 2010 Progress ReportThough I've paid off my debt, my financial health is still very much a work in progress. To chart my evolution I've decided to check in at least once a month with a progress report.So what's been going on since last month:I've met with my financial planner a few times. We had our initial session in October, during which he collected all my paperwork -- the mortgage papers, insurance papers, bank veronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09805747891631221848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6230430404063713082.post-59600974868575732302010-10-10T09:39:00.005-04:002010-10-10T12:01:36.170-04:0010-10-10Today was to have been my big debt-free day. I worried earlier this year that I wouldn't make it, what with the condo purchase. Amazingly -- blessedly -- I paid it off almost two months early.I had wanted to have $10,000 in savings in addition to being debt free. I didn't manage to do that -- what would've gone into savings actually went toward the purchase of the condo. But I do have savings, veronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09805747891631221848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6230430404063713082.post-91993394449726154372010-09-03T21:27:00.002-04:002010-09-03T23:02:59.901-04:00Debt and RelationshipsThe New York Times published an interesting article in today's edition. "How Debt Can Destroy a Budding Relationship" examines the consequences of having a significant amount of debt and what couples should consider before getting married. In the first example a woman told her boyfriend early in the relationship that she owed $100,000. When he found that she instead owed $170,000, he walked.She veronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09805747891631221848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6230430404063713082.post-32914465704575680002010-09-01T21:13:00.006-04:002010-09-02T22:51:33.454-04:00What Worked for MeI'm happy -- and thankful -- to report that I am still debt free. It hasn't been a month yet; I'm still a newbie. I don't know what to do with myself, to tell the truth. For so long I defined myself according to my debt. All of my actions were driven by my credit card balance.I am working hard to overcome it. In fact, I bought myself a present this evening. Nothing huge, but something to reward veronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09805747891631221848noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6230430404063713082.post-83884427441327078632010-08-31T22:37:00.003-04:002010-09-01T00:13:01.444-04:00What the Financial Planner SaidThe meeting with the financial planner went well. It was more a discussion of the process and what we would work on together, so no actual advice was given. Still, it was good meet with him and lay the groundwork.He typically visits with clients three times a year: during tax season to go over deductions and whatnot and discuss what to do differently in the coming year; during the summer to veronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09805747891631221848noreply@blogger.com2